QINGDAO --  The fourth Qingdao Multinationals Summit is scheduled to be held on October 10-12 in east China's Shandong Province, with more than 800 representatives of transnational corporations and industry leaders expected to attend the event, according to officials at a press conference on Friday.

Since its debut in 2019, the summit has been serving as an important platform for multinational companies to enhance cooperation with China, share their development experience and link resources with other multinationals.

At Friday's press conference, Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, said that holding the summit is one of the specific measures in line with the country's greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, with the aim of further improvin the efficient platform for investment matchmaking and policy promotion, so as to help boost business confidence and share the opportunities of China's economic development with multinational companies.

"This year's summit will continue the theme of 'Multinationals and China' and highlight six topics: greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, new practices of multinationals' development in China, new trends in industrial investment layout, new achievements in building the business environment, international cooperation in digital economy, and green, low-carbon and high-quality development. We are committed to making this summit a more splendid, productive and influential communication channel and platform," Chen said.

Multinational companies, as major participants in economic globalization, witnesses of China's reform and opening up, and bridges between domestic and international markets, have made important contributions to China's economic development over the years, said Chen.

He noted that the Chinese government has always attached importance to the investment and operation of multinational companies, and has rolled out a series of well-targeted and high-value policies to ensure stable foreign investment.

In August, China's State Council issued a statement outlining its guidelines regarding further optimizing the foreign investment environment and intensifying efforts to attract foreign investments.

In line with the guidelines, the Ministry of Commerce has strengthened policy support for foreign investment, including rationally reducing the negative list, further relaxing restrictions, and launching a series of promotion activities, according to Chen.

Currently, preparations for the summit have entered the final stage. More than 500 guests have signed up for the summit, and the number of attendees is expected to exceed 800, according to Song Junji, vice governor of Shandong Province.